With Fang's wings
by ironfaery
Summary: Various one-shots in Fang’s point of view through the series. Starting with the kiss in book one.
1. Chapter 1

**Me ****Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to James Patterson. Some dialogues are taken straight from the book, as this is Fang's point of view of some parts of the novels.**

**IMPORTANT: English is not my Native language; I have used word editor so there won't be any spelling mistakes, but if I a have phrased something wrong, of you think you can help me improve my English and the story please let me know****.**

_Book one. __At the beach._

Waking up surrounded by erasers is not one of the best experiences, specially if one of them is disgusting weirdo Ari

I looked over at Angel who was hovering above us.

"How many?" I mouthed at her.

She looked quite scared, which basically means too many.

I focused my attention on Ari who had Max pinned down with his boot, could I take Ari on my own? Ari was bigger and stronger than me, and you'd be stupid if you are not scared of him. But none of this mattered because I couldn't take anymore the chasing.

I was thinking the best way to get him of Max, when he said it, he had being saying pretty disgusting things that have just kept building up my anger, when he said "I like 'em feisty" and then I just launched myself at him only thinking of hurting him, and hurting him a lot.

I started punching and kicking as best as I could, but god he was strong, it was like punching a wall. The only advantage I had was that he was heavy, slower than me, but his blows were ten times mine. He went to grab me, I moved to the side, but not fast enough and his claws raked my face leaving a burning sensation.

We kept fighting but when I though I had managed to give him a good kick, he turned and I felt as if I had been hit with a bag of bricks, my knees gave in, I barely registered when something took my head and smashed it against a rock and I though my skull might crack open like a watermelon.

I was nearly unconscious when I heard the shouts, until then, I had been so immersed in the fight that I hadn't see our surroundings or heard the hundreds of erasers around us. But Max's desperate screams went straight to my brain.

"Stop it! Fang! Leave him alone!"

Max.

I opened my eyes in time to see Ari reaching down to me; I grabbed a handful of sand and threw it straight at his eyes, buying me some seconds to get up. I kicked him with as much strength as I could manage, which wasn't enough by far, as he absorbed the blow and elbowed me in the face.

I fell down, I though it was the end, I could barely think and then I fainted.

When I woke up, I only knew I wasn't dead because my whole body hurt, my head felt like my brain had melted and my skull like a puzzle someone had badly glued together.

I heard movement around me but I couldn't move to save my life, suddenly I felt fingers touching my neck, almost in a caress but checking every bone.

"Fang, you have to wake up" said Max, and the desperation in her voice was staggering but I couldn't even open my eyes. I felt Iggy checking all my bruises, while Max put my head on her lap slowly, as if I were going to fall to pieces. Which I probably was.

I couldn't really follow the conversation but then a word made sense in the haziness and I was able to choke.

"No hospi'l" My lower lip felt huge, I was sure it was split.

"Fang! How bad?" Max asked full of worry.

"Pre-y bad" I felt something moving loosely around my mouth, not a tooth please, I moved to the side and spitted it in my hand. I looked at it. "Tooth"

I looked around and I realized that my brain must have really melted because I was seeing double, I touched the back of my head, and got dizzy in the process "Feel like crap" I commented in case they hadn't noticed.

Max said something I saw her doing whisker motions on her face, I made a mental note over my skull cracking headache of being a jerk next time she got hurt.

I check the rest of my teeth with my tongue, they hurt and some of them felt loose, but I didn't think I would be eating soup for the rest of my life.

And then, her voice cracked on my name, I looked over at her, but I didn't understand her expression, everything seemed blurry.

Soft lips touched my cracked and dried with blood ones for a second, and I didn't realise she had kissed me until she pulled away, with such an amazed look on her face that I would have laughed If I hadn't been trying to decipher what have just happened myself.

Typical Max doing something like this when I couldn't even hold myself upright, let alone think about what have just happened.

I felt embarrassed lying on her lap, and tried to put myself upright. I had been so concentrated in the pain in my head that I hadn't noticed that every single move was pure torture. I could barely breath, I wave of dizziness hit me and I had to put both hands on the sand to stay upright.

A blurry Angel came offering me something, I wanted to take it but I was afraid of reaching for it and missing, the others would worry too much, then she casually took my hand and gave me a glass, what an a amazing 6 year old she is. I rinsed my mouth carefully, not wanting to loose any more teeth but when I spit, I had a moment of great clarity.

"I'm going to kill Ari"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: ****All recognizable characters belong to James Patterson. Some dialogues are taken straight from the book, as this is Fang's point of view of some parts of the novels.**

Book 2: Girly Mom!

I got into the house annoyed, Erasers. There went my rather nice day.

"What happened to you?" Anne cried.

Max started explaining to Anne, she could not say human-wolf hybrids she had to go with the complicated explanation. I went to the toilet to clean myself a little and stop my bleeding nose without Anne making a scene.

I was getting out of the bathroom checking my bloody shirt, should I throw it into the wash or directly into the bin? When I saw out of the corner of my eye Max looking at me, checking how I was, pretty normal since it seems lately I always end up beaten up, but suddenly she put on a funny face and looked away. Maybe her voice was telling her something about how the oldest guy in the group always gets his butt kicked.

I drank what was left of the milk cartoon straight from the bottle, and went to have a shower.

We had been talking in Nudge's room, but it got late, so we did our goodnight ritual and I went to brush my teeth, today had been a pretty eventful day,but I didn't want think too much about the Erasers…And Max had been in her element, it really annoyed me that she didn't even want to try to feel what a normal life could be like.

Maybe that was why it had felt good when Lissa kissed me today, because it was something normal people did, with her I just had to pretend to watch way too much television and curse teachers and homework…So relaxing.

I walked down the hall to my room, Max was shutting quietly Angel's door. She heard me and nearly crashed into me while turning around. Paranoid.

"They down?" I asked knowing the answer.

She nodded and said "They're beat. School really takes it out of them. And then, of course, Erasers."

Well, school is tiring even if you just have to sit around, but punching, kicking and flying at the same time…I think it was far more tiring but I just said "Yeah"

Anne came out of Nudge's room smiling, she really had gotten to love to have us around, I didn't fully trust her, but man I loved that I could have a bedroom on my own and things like that.

Max was looking at her funny, instead of enjoying a bit of freedom from her babysitter 24h job, she was jealous of Anne. She always amazes me.

"Let them enjoy it while they can" I stopped myself before saying, enjoy it you too, she was fourteen and every one of us owes her so much, but she needs to enjoy herself…

"She's taking my place" she said regretting saying it aloud at the moment, I could tell by the way she bit her bottom lip as if to keep her mouth shut.

"You're a fighter, not a mom" I said shrugging, maybe I should take her to the circus to have some fun. Well better somewhere else, in the circus we may get hired as freaks.

She looked really hurt, wow, I knew she really wanted to take care of us but we weren't her babies "I can't be both? You think I'm a lousy mom? What, because I'm not girly enough, is that it?" Girly enough? What the hell was she is talking about? "Not like that girl with the red hair, stuck to you like glue!" then she pushed me hard, I shoved her back in the instant with the same force she had push me.

Was she pushing me because she was jealous? I couldn't believe it, she looked so mad. Angry lines covered her brow and she flushed red, she was so cute angry that I nearly laughed out loud, but I couldn't because I was way too amazed at her reaction, did she like me? When she kissed me felt so good, even if it was just for two seconds, even if it tasted like blood, and my mouth had hurt so much. But she seemed embarrassed after, she acted like always so I tried not to dwell on it…but…still…

We stayed there in front of each other for ages, I wondered if staring at her long enough I could get to know what the was going through her head.

I knew her better than anyone, I knew she was pretty, half of the boys in my class where obsessed with her, but none of them knew how strong and brave she was or that she could knock them down with a single punch. I was hoping one asked her on a date, I bet she would say no or that she would want to have every single tiny little detail of it in control. We saw her as our unbreakable leader, and forgot that she was a 14 year old girl (with wings, but still a girl).

"You're girly enough. As I recall"

She turned even redder if it was possible, but looked angry, so she liked me or not? Was she ashamed that she has kissed me? So I just went for the mom thing and let alone the kissing.

"And you've been a great mom. But you're only fourteen and you shouldn't have to be a mom. Give yourself ten years of so"

I brushed her shoulder in a sort of reassuring/friendly way and walked past her, suddenly I remembered.

"By the way, I've started a blog. I´m using the computers at school. Against all the rules of course. Fang's Blog" I chuckled, rules seemed so stupid to me, we have lived on our own for so many years… "Check it out sometime…Mom"

I ´d love to say that I went bed and sleep nicely through the night, but that would be a lie.

When we where on the run I just didn't have much free time, but being safe in a nice house, with tons of food, and no imminent threat gave me to much freaking free time, and if you have been the whole day flying and have kept watch for 3 hours, you fall asleep instantly, now I just lay awake staring at the ceiling thinking.

Max.

Did I like her? It was stupid to ask myself that, I already knew the answer. So what the hell was I doing with Lissa? It was just…a sip of normal life. Wasn't it?

Did she like me? She seemed so jealous this evening…Was she really jealous? …lately we have gotten closer than ever, maybe it was just that she felt they were stealing her friend.

But she kissed you! So what? She hasn't done anything else to prove her feelings…

AN: I really like this chapter but I feel there is something…missing or wrong, I just can't put my finger on it, does Fang sound to ooc?

Reviews make my day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: ****All recognizable characters belong to James Patterson. Some dialogues are taken straight from the book, as this is Fang's point of view of some parts of the novels.**

_Book two. Violence and Mayhem._

As Iggy and I sat down to have lunch, Lissa came over, and kissed my cheek.

"My mum will be here in five minutes to pick me up"

"Where are you going?" asked Iggy.

"Dentist" she said with a frown "but I least I'll skip calculus!"

"Lucky you"

"Well, Nick I'll see you tomorrow" She said putting a sad face "Bye Jeff"

I nodded goodbye.

Iggy looked at me grinning, but he didn't dare to tease because he knew that I had witty comebacks for him and his new tall flirt.

I reached for my Coke and I was about to take a sip from it when something hit the back of my head, it didn't hurt but made me spill a bit over my white shirt. The brown stains spread quickly, that's why I rather wear black, stains don't show up.

"Oh sorry" muttered a blonde boy with a lunch tray in his hands.

I shot him a dirty look.

"What happened?" asked Iggy.

"Idiot made spill the coke" I tried to clean the mess with a napkin. It didn't work. I looked over my shoulder to see if he had heard me but a group of boys surrounded him as they went to sit in the table behind me.

"So you're going to ask her out Sam. Aren't you? I mean she is hot, do you think she will say yes?" Started a really excited guy looking everywhere around the room for the girl.

"I don't know but I hope so, I mean we've been talking in class and she was really nice to me" Said the Sam-the-pusher, he seemed nervous but confident. I hoped whoever he liked turned him down, if Max saw the stains I would never heard the end of it and Nudge had already walked past and made a show of showering with a can.

"I ´d love to ask her, just look at her she could be a model, but she would never say yes to me…Oh look there she is! She is picking up the food with JJ!"

"Where? I can't see them!"

"The ones paying!"

"Come on! We should sit at the end of the cafeteria, there are lots of free tables maybe they'll sit with us" Said Sam picking up his tray while his mates followed him.  
I turned a bit to see who they were talking about, Max was getting the change from an elderly cook, she was changing her weigh from foot to foot like she did when she was nervous but she was smiling at the girl talking next to her.

"It's Max, isn't it?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah" I said as if I didn't care, but I was studying the Sam guy from head to toe, she wouldn't say yes to a guy like him, he looked stupid, and he just wanted to go out with her because she was hot!

"Is she really that good looking?" Iggy asked sounding puzzled "I mean I've never given much though to our looks, I mean, I do, I'd like to see what all of you look like, but I never thought about it in a pretty, ugly sort of way, but Tess told me the other day she was pretty, and a guy came to ask me if she was going out with someone, and now the fans"

"Well…" I started not sure how to continue, she was beautiful, and she looked good in her uniform, but they didn't know the real Max, I wondered what they would think if they saw her with her wings extended, flying as if she owned the sky. I put my best impersonal tone and said "She is athletic, tall, and yes I suppose she has a pretty face" I finished lamely and started eating to finish the conversation.

"So, she is good looking" Iggy confirmed with a smirk.

* * *

I nearly chocked when Max said she got asked on a date, when we were having dinner over Anne's.

"You what?" said Iggy incredulous, we thought the guy had gave up, he tilted his head toward my direction as if expecting me to say something, but I was to busy drinking to hide my surprise.

"I got asked on a date" she repeated as she was talking about the weather. I peeked at her she didn't look specially happy about it.

"Oh, Max!" Nudge squealed happy.

"You're kidding, what a loser! What'd he say when you shot him down?" That's what I wanted to hear too, because in the pit of my stomach I knew she hadn't said no.

I wanted to tease her, but I just couldn't think about anything else apart from hoping the bastard knocked over her a week worth of food and she will hate him forever, so I kept eating, more quite than ever.

She cut her steak really slowly. God she was frustrating!

"You said yes, didn't you?" What was Nudge so happy about?

"Oh, my God, Max on a date. I thought we were trying to avoid tears, and violence and mayhem" Iggy said laughing, I wanted to join him in the taunting but there was knot in my stomach so tight that I thought I would puke.

Angel looked at me, and gave me one of her dazzling, innocent smiles before saying "I think it's great, Max is beautiful, she should go on dates" Yes, but not with jerks.

"What are you going to wear?" Anne asked smiling nicely.

"Don't know" she muttered blushing, and I could not help remembering that the last time I saw her blush like that, was under my glance, when I thought she was jealous. What an idiot I was, of course she wasn't jealous, she got half the school after her and now even a nice date with a normal human jerk.

* * *

_Thanks everybody for all the wonderful reviews! I hope that you like this chapter and review it too! ___

_Some people have been asking for more chapters and I've realized that I haven't said anywhere how many I was going to make! Well, the next one is going to be (obviously) Max's date (yay!) I will be posting it in two weeks more less. _

_After that I am torn between, "love hurts" in the 4__th__ book, inventing my own 3__rd__ kiss and what happens, or when he and Nudge are alone in the first book (when Max gets shot). _

_  
At the moment I'm not planning to write about his point of view in book 3 because his moments in this book are great, and I don't think I can add anything!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: ****All recognizable characters belong to James Patterson. Some dialogues are taken straight from the book, as this is Fang's point of view of some parts of the novels.**

**Book two. Stuck to you**

I had been restless the whole evening, and it was not because Max was with the weiner, on-a-date.

I had tried to hang with the guys, but after loosing pathetically three times at poker, I resigned and went to my room to listen to music. It was late, I looked out the window, when the hell was she going to get home? Relax Fang, you don't care when she gets back, because there is nothing between the two of you. I lied back in bed and put the headphones on, but the mp3 battery had died, I looked annoyed at the ceiling, and without music it was too easy for my mind to wander where I didn't want it to go.

If he kisses her I'll have to kill him, because she doesn't like him, she looked more sick than happy about the date. She could kill him if she wanted, but she's not that effective killing people, last one she killed came back to life. That would be no problem with me because I'll kill him, then dismember him, and burn him and then…

I heard a car, she was back.

Got up from the bed and looked through the window, there they were.

How nice he was walking her to the door. She is giggling! why is she giggling?

Maybe because he said something stupid, because he is stupid. Why is she smiling all shy like that? Stop smiling and get into the house. He is too close to you, way to close, should I go down to casually open the door and… no… no! I punched the wall! He has signed his death sentence…

I stood there breathing hard looking at the scene outside, my hand throbbed but I knew I had not draw blood, still the pain in my hand didn't even compare with the one I felt in my gut as if someone was twisting my insides …

"Is something wrong, Fang?" asked Angel peeking through the door in her pajama "I think I heard something"

"No, no everything is just fine" I tried to control my voice; I couldn't talk to Max murderously jealous, she would notice, I tried to relax. "Come on Angel, to bed, you were supposed to be sleeping and hour ago" I said

"Ok" and the she gave me a weird smile and run away laughing like a maniac.

Which was a relief at least I was not the only lunatic in the house. I breathed in and out a few more times and went to Max's room.

I opened the door slowly with one hand covering my eyes "Whoa, your happy glow. It's blinding" good, natural, breath.

She made me a face, and took off the hoodie, her wings stretching behind her beautifully… and that loser had kissed her. I entered the room and closed the door with my back to her so she couldn't see my disgusted face. Start casual conversation Fang, come on.

"They wanted to stay up to wait for you, but Anne made them go to bed" I said while I moved toward to wall and leaned on it casually.

"Good thinking on Anne's part"

"So? How was it?" I finally exploded. I crossed my arms so she wouldn't see my hands balled into fists. She looked at me intently but didn't answer so I pressed on "I saw him…what's the phrase?" as if a needed reminder, I wondered if that was the first time they had kissed in the whole evening together and my voice came out sharper than I intended "Oh, yeah, "stuck to you like glue", So I guess you got along all right" I finished lamely.

She looked at me as if trying to find double meaning to my words.

"Yeah, there's a lot of that going around" Wow. Low blow. I really couldn't say anything else; I was the one who had started this dating thing. Still it wasn't the same because…well because...

I sat defeated next to her "So you like him. I don't have to kill him"

"Yeah. He was really nice. We had a good time"

To some people this may sound like, I like him, I wouldn't mind seeing him again. But I heard it as clear as water, the dismissal, she knew we weren't going to last here, and when we went away she will forget about him.

When I got back to my room I pushed open the window, took of my shirt and jumped to the night, flying wearing shirts and jackets is comfortable enough but the feel of the wind where your wings connect to your back, is something different, it makes you feel the wings are really yours, not stolen from another species, grafted into you by capricious people who though they could play God.

The night was cold so I didn't fly too high because I would freeze, moving just the a few feathers I banked, the techniques I had learned from the hawks made flying completely different, I've told the others how to do most of the stuff, and they practiced from time to time, but I knew I was the only one that did it all the time, escaping and fighting, sometimes it had turned out great, and others I've gotten myself a black eye.

Going for a fly on my own have been something that I did quite often when we used to have a house, and now that we were safe for the moment I started my routine again, but today I knew that I was flying because I needed to think.

Max had always been my best friend, she had been present in most of the most important moments of my life, and lately I had been thinking too much about her.

I knew I've been postponing thinking about this for quite a long time, but the crack in my bedroom wall confirmed that I could not hold it anymore.

I liked her, my last though before falling asleep was for her and my first one in the morning too, even if it was "I wonder if Max will let me fake an illness so I don't have to go to school tomorrow because I've spent the whole night flying".

I knew her favorite food, color; I knew her moods, and most of the time we were thinking the same thing. I wonder if she's thinking about me now.

If you had asked me if I was planning to do something about my feelings for Max two days ago, first I would have denied them, then if you got me to accept them (not likely) I would have said, I will keep just being her friend and see if the things turn in the right direction. But now every time I though about her, about her telling her secrets someone other than me…and…damn it! Kissing other guys I just felt like I was going to be sick.

I was going to let her know how I feel; I would have to start very subtle, if I did something straight away she would freak! I liked her, I wanted her to be with me.

We were always on the same page, feel the same about most things, so why shouldn't we feel the same about this?

I kept flying most of the night, her face played in my head a thousand times and when I last got to bed, I knew I didn't like her.

I was in love with her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: ****All recognizable characters belong to James Patterson. Some dialogues are taken straight from the book, as this is Fang's point of view of some parts of the novels**

_I know, I know to long without updating! I'm sorry I feel terrible, but I was to thrilled about the new book coming out (liked it!) and then I was to thrilled about City of Glass coming out to ( third book in The Mortal Instruments triology check them out, they are incredible!)_

_Anyway I hope you like it!_

**Higher Living - Book One**

We had been walking for hours around New York, looking for this so called institute. I didn't want to rain on Angel's parade, but sincerely, this institute thing she had picked on their brains maybe wasn't what we were looking for.

My feet were hurting, and I was sure I had a blister on my toe but I wasn't going to be the first one to tell Max this walk around idea sucked, we weren't really going to walk past it, and no dark ally was going to pop-up a "Here is a secret door to the institute" signal.

"So what's your big plan for finding the Institute?" Iggy finally broke down and asked what everyone had on their minds, I waited for the big fat lie Max was going to tell because she didn't have a plan.

Nudge seized the moment sank down on the stone steps making all of us stop.

"I'm tired of walking. Can't we just sit for a minute?" she said sighting, while Gazz and Angel sit beside her.

"Uh…" said Max with a frown, she really looked quite loose at what to do.

"How about a phone book? every once in a while I see one" I said trying to help, though I knew we were as likely to find anything about it in one, as a dress in Max's closet.

"Yeah, that's a possibility" she said clearly unconvinced.

I wanted to find the institute as much as any of them, but clearly this walking around freaking New York wasn't helping, and there was no chance we will just run into it.

And I was worried about Max, about her headaches.

"Well, so what are we going to do?" Iggy insisted.

The younger kids looked wrecked, Gazzy was actually nearly dozing on Nudge shoulder and Angel had her head in her hands looking quite tired.

I was about to suggest to come back to the park, think of a plan and continue the search the next day when Max's far off look suddenly changed, she turned around with a lot more energy than she had had five minutes ago.

"Were are going to start in here" she said more loudly than necessary, and clapped twice giving Gazzy a heart attack "I figured they've got computers, and data base.." and she started off to the entrance, and all the younger kids who looked like about to pass up got up and started following her.

As I started to climb the steps of the library I whispered to Iggy who was standing all the time next to me in the city because there was too much noise for him to get his bearings.

"How does she do that?" and I wondered if I clapped my hands, if the kids would sit down again, or if Max had trained them to only follow her orders.

In our old house, there had been a few of books, but we had lived there on our own for years, and with barely any contact with the outside world, we had read them so many times that we knew them by heart, and looking at row after row of books was a bit overwhelming. Specially since we didn't know where to start searching.

A man came toward us, he was about my height and skinny, if he was human, I could take him down easily, and I doubted he was an Eraser but just in case I did a 360º.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, I was hoping to find information on a Institute that I think is in New York" Max said with a different voice, one that was nice and sweet and completely unMax like, I looked at her amused but her smile caught me off guard, she was smiling at him as if he were her hero.

"Unfortunately. I don't know the whole name, or where in New York is it. Is there a computer I could use to search? Or some sort of database?" she said playing with her hair unconsciously and looking like a lost lamb, at this point I was looking for a reason to punch the guy in the face, or Max, we just need to know where the computers are, not his number and home address.

"Fourth floor, there are computers in a room off the main reading room. They are free, but you have to sign in" he said looking at Max, and noticing that despite the dirt and the ragged clothes she was tall, and good looking.

"Thank you so much" she said giving him a huge smile, what's wrong with her? I can't remember the last time she smiled to me like that, or any of us.

She didn't smile to me like that when I carried for miles, **flying!**

"Well, aren't you the charmer?" I finally let out irritated.

"What?" she said as if she didn't know what I was talking about, typical Max.

_I know it isn't really a fax-like chapter, but I think Fang is in book one__, coming to terms with what he feels about Max and not completely in love from the start! Also sometimes I try to start the story with a little scene not happening in the books. I wrote this piece for one of my old book 2 chapters, but latter I took I out, since I think it's quite funny and I liked it a lot I'm giving to you as a present for the long wait!_

_Enjoy!_

**Make the joke of me and you!**** – Book 2**

On my bed there was a shopping bag. I had a fairly good idea of what was inside, which make me reluctant even to enter my room. But best to get over with it.

I picked it up without looking inside and turned it upside down, dark pants, dark jumper, dark socks, and some white shirts. Max found me like that, glaring at the uniform. She stood beside me glancing at the mess on the bed, from the corner of my eye I saw a small smile play on her lips, I raised and eyebrow at her and she picked one of the items on top of the bed and held it in front of me.

"Uuh Fang, a _white_ shirt" she said amused.

She thought she was funny, didn't she?

I smirked at her and started walking toward her room. She followed me immediately sensing that I was going to win this round. She had the same shopping bag as me on top of the bed. Untouched, by the looks of it. I picked it up and searched for something inside it.

Finally I found it and I pulled it up for Max's inspection. She narrowed her eyes and her lips formed a thin line

"Uuh Max, a _skirt_"

**Feel free to point out any, grammar of spelling mistakes!**

**(Thanks for pointing out the sing, sign thing! You're all wonderful!)  
Review please please pleaseee!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: ****All recognizable characters belong to James Patterson. Some dialogues are taken straight from the book, as this is Fang's point of view of some parts of the novels.**

**Book One: Tunnels, sweet tunnels **

Watch meant we divided the night so that we took turns sleeping and taking care over everyone. I was doing first watch which meant that I should have awakened Max an hour ago.

I was lying on my side letting my body relax and rest as much as it could without really sleeping, because I was taking the whole night watch, or at least Max's turn too.

Sleeping in a tunnel wasn't fun, I watched the beggars go around their business and I sat up as one of them seemed to be coming our way, he had a laptop and keep stopping and glaring at us, he was younger than the rest of them, nearly a kid like ourselves. He started again toward us but as I was about to get up, Max moaned and sat bolt upright.

She was clutching her head as her previous headaches, tears streaming down her face.

"Max?" I whispered holding her, not wanting to draw attention to ourselves.

With the slightest touch I brushed her hair aside from her neck and breathed relieved, because even though she looked like she wanted to die, there was nothing on her neck.

I was surprised about how little thought Max gave to this headaches, she was convinced that they just showed her weird images but I had darker idea of what they could mean. It was a horrible idea. I was so scared about it that I hadn't even suggested it to her or the rest of the flock, because I was afraid if I said it aloud, it would become true.

The headaches might mean her expiration day was coming.

We had seen Erasers die. We had seen Erasers with expiration dates ugly tattooed on their necks. But we didn't know if they came with horrible headaches first!

I hated having those thoughts, maybe they even became true just because I thought of them!

Fuck! We didn't even know if we had expiration dates!

Still I couldn't help checking her neck again for the obscene numbers, because the idea of a world without Max seemed impossible and more terrifying than any horde of Eraser. I took her shoulder so she would know that I was there with her, and while I was alive she was going to be alive too, we have gone through too much together at the school to die now.

Suddenly they guy I had been watching before came toward us, I was ready to take him down the moment he did anything weird, but I was more worried about Max than him so I waited to see what he wanted.

"Who's screwing with my Mac?"

He didn't look like an imminent threat, and Max was calming down, her breath more slow and even, tears drying on her face but they were the last ones. With one hand still on Max's shoulder I considered knocking him cold on the ground, I really had no patience for this right now.

"Who are you?" He insisted annoyingly "What are you doing? You've crashed my whole system, worthless dipstick!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, coldly, he had 5 minutes of my attention before I grabbed his laptop and broke it down on his head.

"My system crashed. I've tracked the interference, and it's comin' from you. So I'm tellin' you to knock it off—or else…"He looked at Max for the first time" And what's wrong with her? She trippin'?" Funny he asked considering he looked like trippin' himself.

"She's fine," I snapped, because she was fine, her breath was still a little ragged and she didn't sound fine at all, but she was going to be okay, and I was there for her. "We don't know anything about your computer. If you're not brain-dead, you'll get out of here."

"I'm not going nowhere till you quit messing with my Mac. Why don't you get your girlfriend to a hospital?" Girlfriend? In another contest I would have a witty come back, but right now the words didn't even touch me, because all I could think of what was wrong with my bestfriend, and what I was going to do if she really needed to go to a hospital.

"Who the hell are you?" Max half whispered weakly and my poker face broke down a little at how bad she sounded.

"None of your beeswax!" he said adjusting the straps that kept the Power Book in front of him "Just quit screwing up my motherboard."

"What are you talking about?" Said Max finally levering herself a bit up, I studied her face. She looked bad.

"This!" The kid turned his Mac toward us, the screen flashed images, maps, streams of code, and all sort of things that I didn't know what they mean, I was about to ask what had that to do with us when I heard Max gasp.

"Who are you?" Max demanded, still sounding shaky, as if she recognized the stuff on the screen.

"I'm the guy who's gonna kick your butt if you don't quit messing with my system,"

I highly doubted he could even throw a decent punch but then large red words scrolled down his computer screen:

Hello, Max.

I stared at her in amazement, and she looked shocked back at me, she didn't know what this was about either but it was getting as weird as it could be.

Onscreen, it said,

Welcome to New York.

"Can you hear that?" Max whispered completely out of her mind at me "Did you hear it?"

"Hear what?" I heard a lot, the stupid kid, the flock sleeping, her ragging breath, rats, beggars and a lot more of unpleasant things.

"That voice?" Max said. Great I wondered if this headaches had something to do with the chip, or on the bright side maybe Max was just on drugs and was hallucinating, my days was looking better by the second!

"What's the deal?" the kid started punching numbers trying to regain the control of his computer "Who's Max? How are you doing this?"

"We're not doing anything," I said just as Max got a new headache. Max didn't utter a word to tip me off, but her expression, and the sudden force which she suddenly grabbed me were more than enough.

The screen started showing again the same images as before photos and maps, a chaos of information and just as Max released my arm and started rubbing her temple four words caught both our attention: Institute for Higher Living.

She looked at me, and I nodded trying to keep from my face how weird this was before the screen went blank once more.

_Thanks for all the reviews and favorites! Y__ou are all wonderful and lovelys! Thanks to everyone who has pointed out something that I written wrong so I could correct it. It really puts a smile on my face to see that you like the story._

_The next ones I want to write are the "love hurts" (a little fax for you people after this more friendly chapters) and the one when Max tries to cut the chip off herself, and I think I'd like to try something with book five but I'm not sure! Any suggestions? _

_Anyway lots of love! Review!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: ****All recognizable characters belong to James Patterson. Some dialogues are taken straight from the book, as this is Fang's point of view of some parts of the novels.**

Book four: Love hurts.

One moment we had been sitting eating lunch and the next she was storming out of the room.

I had been talking with the Dr. Dwyer, she had been really nice explaining things about the station, and I had been able to sneak a few questions about the personal on the boat, who was the newest on board, people habits, security, just because we were in the boat we shouldn't trust them and information has saved our lives before.

And then she had just jumped out of her seat and was out of the door practically in the same motion, maybe she was just claustrophobic, we all feel uncomfortable in closed spaces and the ship wasn't big.

I finished my sandwich and went to follow her, but when I got to the deck some of the scientist where already there watching her with binoculars, so I waited until she calmed down and came back.

I saw her descending in wide circles and I went down the stairs to wait for her inside so we could talk away from prying eyes. She sighed in a resigned sort of way when she saw me but continue to descend.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked. "Why'd you take off like that?"

"Wanted some air" she said brushing her hair back.

She couldn't be more stubborn, could she?

She tried to brush past me. But I took her arms so she wouldn't ran away, I wanted answers and I was going to have them. At least if this was about the voice, the flock being in danger, or if she was just her paranoid crazy self.

"Tell me what's going on," I said softly, looking at her straight in the eyes.

"Nothing." Sure, and I'm brain dead.

"Max, if you would just talk to me—" I really didn't get why she was making this so hard, was she punishing me for something I've done?

If there was something wrong, usually she would have told me to come with her so she could tell me what the problem was.

But I knew a few reasons why she might not tell me her problems right now, things weren't smooth between us, I bet she is scared that if we are alone together I might kiss her again, which was more scary than a fire breathing eraser in her book.

"About what? You and me?" she hissed with venom. "There is no you and me. Especially when you keep throwing yourself at everything in a skirt!" She finished blushing. I was stunned, it was about me, jeez it was completely about me! About us!

I don't know why she thinks I don't have feelings, or that my feelings don't get hurt when she runs (well, flies) away from me, but I have them, quite a lot of them lately.

If she doesn't like me back, she should just tell me and I'll figure what to do with myself, it won't be nice but at least I would know what I'm dealing with.

Instead of letting me kiss her, because really, if she had wanted to pull back she had time, _and _kissing me back like that, like it's the most natural thing in the world for us to do, and then flying away as if we had just killed a kitten it's more than confusing.

But no she has to go for: "Oh no Fang we don't have anything to talk about, because there is nothing between you and me so the next time you even so much as glance to another girl I'll make Gazzy build a flamethrower and reduce both of you to ashes"

I noticed my hands firmly holding her forearms, so she wouldn't escape me again, and I felt that chasing her and worrying about what she might be thinking was everything I did.

And I was tired too, we were together in the school sharing the burden of being the oldest surviving experiments, taking care of the others, always thinking about escaping , and when we were finally free, instead of being happy together we had fought constantly.

Whether we had been silent in a cages stacked next to each other, or sitting in the kitchen table with bleeding noses and split lips, while Jeb lectured us, we were connected, and we had always known that even if everything else failed we had each other, and now this seemed the most natural direction we could head ,whether she liked it or not, because now I knew that she was what I needed most, I doubted I could go back to just being her friend.

There was no way I could go back to being her friend after the way she had kissed me back.

She wrenched her arms away from me with fury, but before she had time to bolt for the door I whispered, loud enough for her to hear "You're wrong, Max," I raised my eyes to her willing her to understand.

"There's a you and me, all right. There will always be a you and me."

_I know, I know, terribly cheesy and from the most hated book, but I guess all the love in the last book got to me and I've been reading terrible fanfiction ( pre MAX, no plot, waiting for them to say "I love__ you" or kiss or whatever ) and I had to write one on my own more less.  
Anyway I'm not dead, I'm planning on updating, anyway I wrote a rough skeleton of a fanfic about the day when they escaped the school, and I don't know if I should post it here, or apart, leaving this pure Fang's POV of the books.  
Oh and I'm writing right know about when in the second book Max goes for a flight after she's been told about the uniforms leaving Fang to fend of on his own, a light fic with just a bit of fax the way I like them, but after that…any suggestions?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: ****All recognizable characters belong to James Patterson. Some dialogues are taken straight from the book, as this is Fang's point of view of some parts of the novels.**

**Book two. ****Babysitting**

"Whoa, you had us going there for a minute" I said, really, school? Was she mad?

"I'm not kidding, Nick," Anne said quietly. "There's an excellent school nearby. It would be perfectly safe. You could meet other people your age, interact with them. And — let's face it: Your education has been spotty at best."

Interact with other people? Interacting with other people for us was if Eraser, kick butt, non Eraser, ignore them.

"School?" Nudge asked, with a mad glee, and I knew she was thinking about teenage movie stravangzta. "You mean, like, at a school?" The word made my hair stand.

"Going to a real school, with other people?" said Angel, and I was a bit worried about her being with other people.

"Holy frijoles," Total muttered from under the table.

"You'll start on Monday," Anne said briskly taking my plate the moment I set the fork on it. "I'll pick up your uniforms tomorrow."

Uniforms? So we would look just like everyone else, maybe they even had matching ribbons for our wings!

Without a word, Max shoved her chair away from the table and stomped over to the back door, before I could. She yanked it open and jumped down the steps, I caught a brief glimpse of her taking off before the door closed.

The kitchen was silent, everyone stared at the door for a few minutes, a tumbleweed passed…okay it didn't but you get the picture.

"Who wants dessert?" said Anne brightly.

I tapped my boot impatiently the rest of the dinner, I couldn't wait to get out of the room, but drama queen had already make her exit and I had to be good second in command, plus teach our young flock that you just couldn't storm off every situation you didn't like.

When we finished, we all went for a short fly around the house, as we entered the house I started following Gazzy silently, after a few steps he turned around and stared suspiciously at me.

"What?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

He took another step. I imitated him. This time he turned around frowning at me.

"What?!"

"Bath time" I said scooping him.

"No, nononoNO! I already bathed!" he said kicking and trying to break away from my grip.

"Really? When?" asked Iggy amused from a doorway.

"The day before yesterday!" said Gazzy and I nearly laughed at how sure he sounded that I would let him go when I heard that.

I tried to get Gazzy inside the bathroom pulling from his waist while he held for dear life to the door.

"Just let it go, the sooner you get in, the sooner it'll be over" I said trying to pry his fingers free.

"I won't! I'll be here until, I grow old and die, and you'll miss House tonight and…"

I tuned him out, I could tickle him free, he is really ticklish, but he gets so out of control than he usually has one of his gas-episodes and I was inside a closed space.

With a sight I put him on the ground but I held him by the scruff of his neck while I put the tap on and started filling the tube with the other hand. That's what Jeb did with me…

"Look I could go while the tube is filling and then come back for the bath…" started Gazzy thankfully pulling me away from a train of though that was sure to put me in a bad mood.

"Did you eat Nudge pills or what? Shut up and start undressing" I said finally managing to take one hand from the door.

"I heard that!" Nudge shouted from somewhere around.

Total looked at us struggling from outside.

"I can't understand how you can hate the bath so much, but it's nearly impossible to get out of the pond" he said scratching himself behind the ears in such a doggish manner that Gazzy and I just stared, and then I seized the moment to make him lose his hold on the door before quickly closing it. Sadly, I was not fast enough to leave Total out.

After that, getting Gazzy into the bath was a matter of time, shorter than expected because he really though I was going to cut the t-shirt of him when he stubbornly "glued" his arms to his sides.

The bathtub was built with the wall and it had a little space between the wall and the tub where Total was sitting babbling about the educational system and how much we were going to benefit from it. It made me want to whack him.

"Of course it has it's downsides" he continued, while I wondered not for the first time if they had made an intelligent dog, or put a human brain inside one the body of a dog. "I wonder who will be the first to get head lice…"

I froze in the middle of putting shampoo on my hand, Gazzy's eyes went very wide.

"My head itches!" he said panicked

"No it doesn't!"

"It does! I can feel them moving!" he said scratching his head.

"Gaz you haven't been to school yet! It didn't itch 5 minutes ago! So _it doesn't!" _I said nearly shouting because now I was paranoid too and I could feel them moving in my head too.

"We're all gonna die" said Gazzy miserably and I didn't bother to ask how the head lice where going to dominate the world because I was to busy pretending my head didn't itch too.

"If we didn't get his fleas" I said nodding my head toward Total while I washed Gazzy's head "I think we are immune to lice"

"That's true!" said Gazzy returning to his usually bright self "I bet you have them, because you don't bath either, well now it's time to start!" and before I could do anything he grabbed one of Total's paws and plunged him inside.

The water had been high enough for Total to drown in, but the huge wave that soaked me, left just enough for him to stand upright. He coughed water a couple of times before he noticed Gazzy staring at me apprehensive. I don't know what was my expression like but Total looked scared too.

"I'm going to have a quick shower and then I'll come back with your pyjamas" I said getting up, he nodded and waited for me to reach the door to start doing a Mohawk with his hair.

My shoes squeaked while I walked toward the other bathroom, I paused a bit in front of the window, searching the sky, and continued my way.

Iggy was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when I came in, a towel around his shoulders, he tried to trip me as a greeting and I punched the arm he was not using.

"Is her majesty back?" I guessed he said because he had his mouth full of foam.

"Not yet" I said searching for a clean towel.

"Maybe she'll bring us some presents from Europe"

"Rolling my eyes" I said as he left.

Getting Gazzy out of the bathroom was easier than usual since I had taken a bit too long myself and the water in the tub had gone cold, Total was nowhere in sight.

I lay on the sofa just as the opening credits started, I had missed the first few minutes but I didn't really care, It always was somebody fainting.

I went to the kitchen in the break to get myself some snack and when I came back Nudge and Angel where in the room rummaging through the shelves. Angel had a book in one hand and Celeste in the other.

I looked at the time.

"You should be in bed" I said as I lay on the sofa balancing a plate with two sandwiches on my chest.

"Just one second, I can't decide between Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights. I was going to read The Da Vinci Code, but if we are going to start school, I though I should start reading some classics, but I can't decide. Which one should I read?" Nudge asked me holding the books out for me as if that would clue me in about what they were about.

I stared at her blankly.

She sighed "Boys are no good with love stories"

"I think you should read Wuthering Heights" said Angel "We already saw the Pride and Prejudice film the other day"

"I know, but I heard the book it's so much better and….

The show started and I turned the TV volume louder. I tried to tune them out but they were still a murmur behind the back of the sofa I was lying, finally I heard Nudge say.

"Okay, I'm taking P and P and that's final"

"I really think you would enjoy more Wuthering Heights" Angel repeated and something in her voice made me leave the plate in the low table beside me and stare at her from the back of the sofa.

Angel was staring at Nudge, more than staring, glaring. Her gaze fixated on her as she took slowly the book from her hands.

"Wuthering Heights is a love and hate story, much more fun than Pride and Prejudice," she noticed my staring and angled her back to me, "and the film really doesn't change that much, it's only five poor girls that want to get married," she said curling Nudge fingers around the other book.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Nudge sighed taking the book and going back to her room, Angel started following her but I cleared my throat.

She walked slowly toward me, knowing that in my point of view she had done something wrong, when she reached me her eyes were level with mine.

I just stared at her. Usually I can get people to admit things they have done wrong, or their problems just by staring at them, I think they just assume I know what they have done or what's wrong and start babbling about it in a very defensive way.

But Angel stood just there in front of me, not saying anything, after a while a lifted my eyebrows and she just smiled as if she didn't know what all was about. And she knew perfectly well what the eyebrows meant, specially since she was reading my mind.

"We watched the film last week, she will be thinking about the book for days and it's stupid because she already knows what happens" she finally squeaked after what seemed hours of glaring contest.

"So you were just selfish?" I said

"No, it's not selfish, she will have more fun too," she way to defensive.

"You should never, ever, do that to one of the flock, it's not right to that to anyone but specially to one of your family." I said and wondering how much trouble her power could be when she grew older.

"But it's okay when I do it for us to get away with things?" She said crushing the book and Celeste against her chest.

"No, it's not okay to do it to anyone, but those are desperate moments that benefit the whole flock, but this time you just did it for yourself without thinking about Nudge feelings" I finished.

She pursed her lips angry, I took her to her bedroom and even tucked her in but she just glared at me the whole way for making her feel guilty. I went back to the living room, but instead of lying in my usual spot, I lay in the other sofa from where I could see the window.

I tucked in my wing just in time to get inside the living room window, at first I had just gone out for a little flight to kill time, but I ended in a pretty cool cave full of bats.

I had wanted to explore it more closely but I hadn't brought a torch with me and it was already quite late, I had flown back home through the trees dodging trunks. I gave one last look at the sky before closing the window.

I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water, drank it, refilled and headed for my bedroom, even though I knew I wouldn't fall asleep until I knew she was back.

As I walked upstairs I felt a twig inside my left wing, it felt like a small pebble in the shoe. In the middle of the hallway I left the glass on the window sill and I tried to take the twig out as quietly as possible, finally I wretched it free and opened the window to through it out. I watched it fall to the ground and when I lifted my head I saw something in the sky.

My raptor vision kicked in, making everything sharper and I could see Max's figure flying like torpedo toward the house, I jugged the distance she was from the house and how long will it take her to reach it, if it was less than 10 minutes she was probably flying at more than two hundred miles per hour. That made me so jealous.

When she was near enough the house I took the glass and made room for her to get in, I handed her the glass and she swallowed it in three gulps

"Gone a long time," I said watching her dry her mouth with her sleeve. "How far did you get? Botswana?"

"Just for a minute, before I had to turn around. They say hi." She said making a face.

"How fast do you think you go?" I said curious if I had been right

"Over two hundred. Two twenty? Two forty?" She said not sure, and I had been right as always. "Everything cool here?" she gave a quick look at all of the flock closed doors before heading to her room.

"Yeah." I said, the flock always was before her. "Wrangled Gazzy into the bath. Total fell in. Angel made Nudge change her mind about what book to read, and I came down on her." She looked at me as if she really didn't believe me.

"Sounds like you've got everything under control." She said mocking me a bit, and I knew she was a bit disappointed that we had not set the house on fire so she could come and save us.

"I managed."

She sat on her bed looking quite down and I wondered if I should tell her about Gazzy and I having psychological lice just to cheer her up, but I knew in what kind of mood she was and that my wit was not going to be welcome.

"Did you want to just keep going out there?" I asked afraid of what she might answer. "Keep going and not come back?"

"Yes," she confessed in a whisper, not looking at me.

"Anne's never gonna take your place, Max," I said angry, I tried to make eye contact with her, to make her understand how stupid she was for letting Anne getting to her like that when we were just using her…

"Anne's just a — depot," I continued when she tried to shrug me off. "We can rest up, eat, hang out, while we plan our next move. The kids know that."

She looked angry, as if I was saying she hadn't been able to give us that "Yeah, they like not having to run or sleep in subway tunnels. They like having the same bed every night. So do I. So do you. Anne's been nice to them, to us, and they like it. We don't get a lot of down days, where we can just chill. They're enjoying the heck out of this, Max. And if they weren't, it would mean they were so messed up they couldn't be saved, ever."

"I know," she said softly.

"But they know who's saved their bacon too many times to count. Who's fed them and clothed them and chased away the nightmares. Jeb may have gotten us out of our cages, but you 're the one who's kept us out, Max."

She looked at me with her eyes bright, her hair blown back from flying so fast, and I couldn't think of anything else to say. We stared at each other for a few seconds, then she lifted an eyebrow at me and I returned to myself.

"Night" I said getting up quickly and heading for the door.

"Goodnight Fang"

The kind of chapter that I love, lots of things happening and slight fax. I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much I did writing it, I am amazed at how much fun I had with Gazzy and Fang, or the flock.

In case I haven't say It enough or you don't remember let me remind you that English it's not my native language, as this chapter was longer than usual I feel there are a few sentences that are a bit odd, please help me improve pointing them out.

Please review if you liked this chapter, last one got very few reviews and I was wondering if you all have left me or if it was just that it was really bad!


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